Staff

RYM Staff

Joe Deegan

Joe grew up in a small town of Tuscumbia, AL near the banks of the Tennessee River. He started playing guitar when he was 15 on a cheap, old fender he borrowed from a friend. A year later, he started banging around the old piano that sat in his living room. He fell in love with both and quickly discovered he had more of an interest in music than he realized. Joe found ways to play for churches and gatherings and friends throughout high school and college until he moved to Houston, TX to work as a youth pastor at Christ the King Presbyterian Church. He has since found a home in Houston with his wife Leah and his four kids Ellie, Sam, Will, and Maggie and currently works on the RYM staff as the Worship Resources Coordinator. Joe wrote and recorded his debut album in March of 2015 called “The Risen King,” an eleven-song project that tells the story of the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ. Joe’s second album “Cover and Title Page” is now available too. Since joining RYM, Joe has headed up a series of albums and Bible studies that can be found on the “RYM Worship” page of the website.

Margaret Duren

Margaret grew up in Houston, TX where she was a member at Christ the King Presbyterian Church and attended RYM conferences every summer she could. She graduated from Texas A&M University with a Business Management Degree and a Certificate in Nonprofit and Social Innovation. During her college summers, she worked as a RYM Summer Intern and enjoyed all the experiences and memories made in this role as she saw churches diligently at work pouring into their student ministries. Her heart has always had an inkling and excitement for youth ministry and after studying business, she wanted to pursue something that would allow her to pour her business skills into a mission that glorifies the Lord. She is getting married to Carter Shelton in July 2020 and is excited to be moving to Macon, GA after this exciting event.

Rev. Michael Hall

Michael and his wife, Kirby, have three children: McKenzie, Carter, and John Thomas. Michael and Kirby met while studying at Ole Miss where God was gracious to call them both to faith in Christ through the ministry of Reformed University Fellowship. They were married soon after graduation and together spent a year in Salzburg, Austria where Michael studied German. They later moved to St. Louis, MO where they attended Covenant Theological Seminary. Michael received a Master of Divinity and Kirby received a Master of Theological Studies. Michael’s relationship with RYM began the summer of 2000 at the beloved Laguna Beach Christian Retreat Center. Since that time, he has led groups from Clemson Presbyterian Church, Kirk of the Hills, and Trinity Presbyterian Church in Charlottesville, VA to many RYM summer conferences. He has also been a big proponent for RYM’s Youth Leader Training (YLT) since its beginnings. As the Director of Training, Michael’s ministry focus within RYM is threefold: the Youth Leader Training Conference, the Church Intern Program, and coaching, consulting, and providing pastoral care for youth leaders and pastors. Contact him if you ever need to talk!

Joel May

Joel is the youngest of six children born to a pastor and elementary school teacher. During his childhood and teenage years, Joel quickly discovered that he was passionate about a few things – the gospel and people. Throughout his adolescence he participated in and led music in his youth group, FCA, and “Big Church.” While attending the University of Georgia, Joel was involved in RUF during the school-year, and during the summers worked as an RYM Summer Intern. After meeting and marrying Maddie (a real stroke of luck), he was placed as an RUF Intern at UGA while Maddie finished her undergraduate and Master’s Degree in Speech-Language Pathology. After spending the last 3 years working full-time with RUF and leading music at a local PCA church, Joel is striving to earn his M-Div at RTS in Charlotte, NC. He is very excited to further learn and grow during the next few years, both in the classroom and through his work with RYM as the Youth Conference Coordinator. Joel loves the outdoors, the body of Christ, traveling, Georgia football, and meeting new people. Joel does not particularly love baseball and writing personal bios.

Dr. John Perritt

John Perritt (MDiv RTS ’09 & DMin SBTS ’16) served in youth ministry at Pear Orchard Presbyterian Church for over 12 years. Prior to that, he served in youth ministry at First Presbyterian Church in Hattiesburg, MS. He published Your Days Are Numbered (2016), What Would Judas Do? (2017), Time Out! The Gift or god of Youth Sports (2018), Bible 101: Living, Loving & Learning God’s Word (2018), Insecure: Fighting Our Lesser Fears with a Greater One (2019), and Mark: How Jesus Changes Everything (2019). He also serves as the host of RYM’s The Local Youth Worker and co-host for Parenting Today. He and his wife, Ashleigh, have five children and live in Ridgeland, MS.